Atletico try horse placentas to get Diego Costa fit

Atletico Madrid are making a desperate bid to have Diego Costa available for the Champions League final by sending 
him for treatment using horse placentas.

Diego Costa is consoled by Atletico teammate Diego Ribas following his injury during the draw with Barcelona. Picture: Manu Fernandez/AP

The Atletico striker is doubtful for Saturday’s match against Real Madrid in Lisbon due to a nagging right thigh injury, but Atletico are not giving up. The club sent the Brazilian-born Spain striker to Belgrade to seek treatment from Marijana Kova-cevic, who uses fluid derived from horse placentas to repair damaged cells.

“It all depends on the horse treatment used, but I have no idea about it as I’m not a doctor,” Atletico president Enrique Cerezo said. “If it doesn’t help him, then it’s best he doesn’t play.”

Kovacevic has previously treated Robin van Persie and Frank Lampard, among a number of footballers.

Costa is Atletico’s top scorer with 36 goals in all competitions but limped out of last Saturday’s a 1-1 draw at Barcelona. The result saw Atletico clinch the Spanish league title for the first time in 18 years and ended the decade-long dominance of Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Meanwhile, Luis Suarez has beaten Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to top the second annual BSports Power 50, which ranks the world’s leading players according to sophisticated data analysis.

The Liverpool and Uruguay striker earned a BSports rating of 86.02, putting him ahead of Messi on 85.43, Zlatan Ibrahimovic on 84.91 and World Player of the Year Ronaldo on 84.59.